Hinge device

ABSTRACT

A hinge device whereby an intermediate part is arranged between a mounting plate and the hinge arm of the hinge, the intermediate part being provided with hook-shaped projections that fit into anchorings or lips of the mounting plate. The projections and the anchorings are each directed in a single opposite direction, and a free path is provided in the area of anchoring-projection engagement between the intermediate part and the mounting plate.

United States Patent [191 [111 3,913,173 Rdc'k et al. 1 Oct. 21, 1975 [54] HINGE DEVICE 2,778,052 1/1957 Lucas 16/130 Inventors: Erich Rock, Hochst; Bernhard 3,772,735 11/1973 Lautenscihlaeger 16/129 Mages, Dornbirn, both of Austria 73 A I G h bin. A Primary ExaminerGe0. Larkin 1 Sslgnee um ese Sc a m usma Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack [22] Filed: Jan. 22, 1975 [21] Appl. N0.: 542,903

[57} ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Apphcatlon Pnomy Data A hinge device whereby an intermediate part is ar- Feb. 6, 1974 Austria 946/74 ranged between a mounting plate and the hinge arm of t the hinge, the intermediate part being provided with [52] U.S. Cl; 16/130 hook shaped projections that fit into anchorings or [51 Int. Cl. E051) 7/04 lips of the mounting plate The projections and the [58] Fleld of Search 16/128 R, l29-l32, chm-h1g5 are each directed i a single opposite direc 133 tion, and a free path is provided in the area of anchoring-projection engagement between the intermediate [56] References C'ted part and the mounting plate.

, UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,581,104 1 1952 Houlsby 16/129 13 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures I v! l I77 U.S. Patent Oct. 21, 1975 Sheet 2 of2 3,913,173

I IINGE DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a hinge device including a mounting plate fixable onto a part of furniture or similar'assembly, ahinge arm mountable onto the mounting plate and bearing the necessary rods or arms of the hinge and an intermediate part between the mounting plate and the hinge arm.

Conventional hinge devicesof thiszkind havethe advantage that the exact adjustment'of the hinge, i.e. of the door, in direction of the depth of the furniture and of the door, gap is possible during'the actual mounting of the door, i.e. while or after the intermediate part is being, or has beenffixed onto the mounting plate, the latter being preass embledin the furniture side wall.

The further advantage of an intermediate part which can be insertedinto guides or the like of the mounting plate is the fact that the door, with'the hinge arm already mounted, can be assembled comparatively easily onto the mounting plate, as compared to other types of hinges in which the hinge'ar'm had to be screwed directly onto the mounting plate, a procedure that caused considerable difficulties, as the whole weight of the door had to be held during the fastening of the screws, such fastening demanding a relatively precise operation.

What proved to be a disadvantage, especially with bigger doors, was the fact that in these conventional hinge devices the intermediate part had to be inserted into the mounting plate, which meant a relatively long path along which it had to be moved, i.e. that the hinges or the hinge arms with the intermediate parts had to be inserted into the mounting plates at the same time, or otherwise the subsequent hinge arms would be at an angle to their respective mounting plates which inhibited the further insertion of the intermediate parts.

Obviously these facts demanded more than average skill from the person effecting the assemblage, usually even necessitatedtwo persons to fulfill such task.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the object of the invention is to provide a hinge device of the type described, but which permits an easy and fast insertion of the hinge arm or the intermediate part connected therewith into the preassembled mounting plate, whereby it is impossible for the respective parts to be at an angle to each other which would prevent their insertion, i.e., in more general terms, whereby the insertionpaths are short.

According to the inventionthisaim isachieved by providing the intermediate part with two hook-shaped projectionswhich both extend in one and the same direction and fit into two anchorings or lips of the mounting plate which also both extend inone and the same direction. A fre e path or open area is provided in the area of engagement of anchoring betwee'n'the intermediate part and the mounting plate, such free path being at least as longas the bracket of one of the projections or of one of the anchorings. a

In order to guarantee a secure holding of the door, the invention provides also afixing element, e. g, a setscrew, which is anchored in the intermediate part and abuts against the mounting plate in a way as to press the projections against the anchorings. l

In an advantageous embodiment at least one of the anchorings is in the form of a projection extending from a front surface'of the mounting plate.

Furthermore it is provided to have the anchorings and the projections arranged to extend in the longitudi- .nal direction of the hinge device, to permit a pivoting of the hinge arm round the points of articulation, i.e. there are no demands as to an eventual yielding of the door.

In order to achieve a stable anchoring of the intermediate part onto the mounting plate the bracket of one projection or of one anchoring is provided to be twice as long as that of the opposite projection or anchoring.

In order to achieve an adjustability in the direction of the height in addition to the conventional adjustment possibilities in the directions of the depth and of the door gap, which is desirable in so far as tolerances in all three of these directions may occur during the mounting of the mounting plate or during the production of furniture, the invention provides that the breadth of the intermediate part and/or that of the projections exceeds the breadth of the mounting plate by a predetermined amount.

Preferably the projections and the anchorings are provided with ribs which prevent the intermediate part from being'dislocated on the mounting plate asa result of the weightof the door.

In order to facilitate the insertion of the projections into their anchorings a centering for the intermediate part is provided; in the embodiments shown said centering is represented by a setscrew which is guided in a horizontal groove of the mounting plate.

In order to facilitate the adjust'ability in the direction of the depth of the furniture the hinge arm is provided with slots through which the fixing screw and preferably also the adjustment screw protrude and which thus permits the adjustment in the depth direction.

Furthermore it is provided that the intermediate part be made of deformable material which can be pressed togetherjat least at the end that faces the'articulations, by means of a clamping element.

In case a more solid material as, e.g., zinc, is used for the intermediate part, the intermediate part is provided with'a horizontal slot dividing it into an upper portion and a lower portion joined by a connection bar. This connecting bar is deformable in a certain region, thus permitting the two portions to be pressed together by approximately the breadth of the horizontal slot.

lt is advantageous to have this'connecting bar whereby the term bar is to be understood in its widest sense arranged on the rear end of the intermediate part with respect to the door.

The clamping element is preferably represented by a screw which extends into or abuts the lower portion of the intermediate part, such screw'being threaded into a thread in the upper portion of the intermediate part.

In this embodiment a setscrew for the hinge arm is provided in the upper portion of the intermediate part, such setscrew being guided in a slot of the hinge arm, thus permitting the adjustment in the depth direction of the furniture.

I In order to avoid a deformation of the intermediate part on the occasion of fastening the setscrew 'a preferred embodiment provides that the latter screws into a thread in the lower portion of the intermediate part and has a rim that abuts against such portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the attached drawings, although it is not intended that the scope of the invention be restricted to this specific embodiment.

FIg. l is a partial longitudinal section of a hinge device according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a section along the line I-I of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of a piece of furniture with a section of a door connected by a hinge device according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the embodiment illustrated, the hinge device according to the invention consists of three main parts, namely the intermediate part 1, the mounting plate 3 and the hinge arm 2.

Generally the mounting plate 3 is fixed on the furniture side wall 23 by screws or dowels which are inserted through the holes 19 into side wall 23. As the particular manner of fixation does not concern subject matter of the invention, it shall not be dealt with here in further detail.

The mounting plate 3 is provided with anchorings or lips 8 which project longitudinally over the mounting plate 3 at one end thereof and longitudinally in the same direction from the other end thereof.

The intermediate part 1 can be inserted into the anchorings or lips 8 by engagement therewith of the projections 7. The anchoring area between the intermediate part 1 and the mounting plate 3 is achieved by providing plate 3 with a recess of a dimension to provide a free path F having a longitudinal dimension at least equal to the length lk of the engaging projections 7 and anchorings or lips 8.

The illustrated embodiment permits the mounting of the intermediate part 1 by displacing part 1 toward plate 3 with the lips 8 and projections aligned, and by displacing the intermediate part, toward the right in FIG. 1, by the distance F of the free path, until lips 8 and projections 7 engage as shown in FIG. 1. Thereafter, the intermediate part 1, at a central position thereof, can be moved by means of a setscrew 4 away from plate 3, thereby pressing projections 7 against the anchorings 8. This arrangement provides an absolutely secure fixation of the intermediate part 1 on the mounting plate 3.

AS can be seen especially from the FIG. 2 the mounting plate 3 has a breadth b which is exceeded both by the breadth of the intermediate part 1 and by the open width of the hinge arm 2 by the amount A.

This arrangement results in that an adjustment of the hinge device becomes possible after the attachment of the mounting plate 3 to the furniture side wall (such as shown in FIG. 3), such adjustment being in the direction of the height of the furniture and amounting to the distance A.

In order to prevent the intermediate part 1 from being displaced by the weight of the door 22 after the above adjustment of the hinge device and after the intermediate part 1 has been clamped by means of the setscrew 4, the invention provides that the projections 7 and/or the anchorings or ribs 8 be provided with ribs 21 in order to secure the intermediate part 1 against an undesired displacement.

The intermediate part1, preferably made of zinc, although naturally other materials with approximately the same properties can be used, is provided with a horizontal or widthwise slot 14 which divides the intermediate part 1 into an upper and a lower portion. The two portions are connected by a bar 15. y

In this case the term bar means only an area of material which is deformable in a way that the upper portion of the intermediate part I can be moved toward or lifted from the lower portion thereof by approximately the breadth or height of the horizontal slot 14.

For this purpose the invention provides a screw 6 which is positioned in or abutted against the lower portion of the intermediate part 1 and which screws into threads 15' of the upper portion. Turning of the screw 6 thus effects a lifting or lowering of the upper portion of the intermediate part 1 with respect to the lower portion thereof. 1

In the upper portion of the intermediate part 1 is screwed a setscrew 5, the head of which protrudes through a slot 13 in the hinge arm 2. This permits, when setscrew 5 is loosened, the hinge arm 2 to be displaced in the direction of the depth of furniture, i.e. the adjustment of the hinge in the direction of the depth. Tightening of the screw 5 clamps the hinge arm 2 onto the intermediate part 1, after the depthwise adjustment has been effected. I

As can be seen from FIG. 1, only the lower part of the setscrew 4 screws into thread 16 of the lower portion of the intermediate part 1, whereby setscrew 4 is provided with a shoulder or rim 17 which, especially in the case of a very soft material used for the intermediate part 1, prevents the lower portion from being deformed.

The horizontal slot 14 can also be shaped in various modified ways, e.g. become smaller towards its rear end and end in an undercut.

In the illustrated embodiment the linkage points for the links and arms of the hinge are not defined by reference number or are not even shown in FIG. 1, nor are the other parts of the hinge, e.g. dowel connection to the door, dealt with any further, since such features may be conventional and are known to everyone skilled in the art, and since such features are not part of the present invention.

What we claim is:

l. A hinge device, particularly for mounting a door to a piece of furniture, said device comprising:

a mounting plate adapted to be attached to a piece of furniture, said mounting plate having a pair of lips projecting therefrom in the same direction;

an intermediate part positioned on the top of said mounting plate, said intermediate part having a pair of projections extending in the same direction therefrom, said projections being fitted beneath said lips of said mounting plate;

a hinge arm mounted on said intermediate part; and

said mounting plate having therein means providing a free path of relative movement between said projections and said lips, said free path having a length at least as long as a first of said lips.

2. The device claimed in claim 1, further comprising screw means threaded through said intermediate part and abutting said mounting plate for moving said intermediate part away from said mounting plate and urging said projections against said lips.

3. The device claimed in claim 1, wherein said projections and lips extend longitudinally of said mounting plate.

4. The device claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of said lips projects from an end face of said mounting plate.

5. The device claimed in claim 1, wherein the length of said first lip is at least twice the length of opposite of said lips.

6. The device claimed in claim 1, wherein the breadth of said intermediate part and said projections is greater than the breadth of said mounting plate by a predetermined amount.

7. The device claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of said lips and projections, at the engaging surfaces thereof, have rib means to prevent relative sideways movement thereof.

8. The device claimed in claim 1, wherein said intermediate part is formed of a deformable material.

9. The device claimed in claim 8, wherein said intermediate part has therein a horizontal slot dividing said intermediate part into an upper portion and a lower portion joined, at the end thereof adapted to be positioned furthest from a furniture door, by a connecting bar.

10. The device claimed in claim 9, further comprising screw means threaded into said. lower portion and abutting said mounting plate, said screw means having a shoulder thereon abutting said lower portion.

11. The device claimed in claim 9, further comprising clamping means operatively connected to said intermediate part to move said upper portion thereof toward and away from said lower portion thereof.

12. The device claimed in claim 10, wherein said clamping means comprises a screw threaded into said upper portion and engaging said lower portion.

13. The device claimed in claim 1, further comprising setscrew means extending into said intermediate part for adjustably fixing said hinge arm thereto. 

1. A hinge device, particularly for mounting a door to a piece of furniture, said device comprising: a mounting plate adapted to be attached to a piece of furniture, said mounting plate having a pair of lips projecting therefrom in the same direction; an intermediate part positioned on the top of said mounting plate, said intermediate part having a pair of projections extending in the same direction therefrom, said projections being fitted beneath said lips of said mounting plate; a hinge arm mounted on said intermediate part; and said mounting plate having therein means providing a free path of relative movement between said projections and said lips, said free path having a length at least as long as a first of said lips.
 2. The device claimed in claim 1, further comprising screw means threaded through said intermediate part and abutting said mounting plate for moving said intermediate part away from said mounting plate and urging said projections against said lips.
 3. The device claimed in claim 1, wherein said projections and lips extend longitudinally of said mounting plate.
 4. The device claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of said lips projects from an end face of said mounting plate.
 5. The device claimed in claim 1, wherein the length of said first lip is at least twice the length of opposite of said lips.
 6. The device claimed in claim 1, wherein the breadth of said intermediate part and said projections is greater than the breadth of said mounting plate by a predetermined amount.
 7. The device claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of said lips and projections, at the engaging surfaces thereof, have rib means to prevent relative sideways movement thereof.
 8. The device claimed in claim 1, wherein said intermediate part is formed of a deformable material.
 9. The device claimed in claim 8, wherein said intermediate part has therein a horizontal slot dividing said intermediate part into an upper portion and a lower portion joined, at the end thereof adapted to be positioned furthest from a furniture door, by a connecting bar.
 10. The device claimed in claim 9, further comprising screw means threaded into said lower portion and abutting said mounting plate, said screw means having a shoulder thereon abutting said lower portion.
 11. The device claimed in claim 9, further comprising clamping means operatively connected to said intermediate part to move said upper portion thereof toward and away from said lower portion thereof.
 12. The device claimed in claim 10, wherein said clamping means comprises a screw threaded into said upper portion and engaging said lower portion.
 13. The device claimed in claim 1, further comprising setscrew means extending into said intermediate part for adjustably fixing said hinge arm thereto. 